Johannes Althusius and the Rejection of Absolutism

This article examines Johannes Althusius’ engagement in his Politica with the theories of public power prevailing in his time, particularly the theories put forward by Jean Bodin and other supporters of absolute sovereignty. Althusius has often been interpreted as responding primarily to the claims of these writers about the location of sovereign power. The principal thesis of the present article, however, is that Althusius is engaging no less critically with a number of associated arguments about the nature of lawful power, especially the views on the basis of which Bodin and his followers had erected their defence of absolute sovereignty.